All news available date-wise and month-wise. Click on the date to revise news.

July 29, 2017

Last night (around 12 to 1), our website underwent a major database crash.

The reasons are still under investigation but most probable causes are server side mishap, hack attempt or features like bookmarks which everyone loved but were expensive operations on the server.

What’s bad?

It resulted in us loosing our content from January 2017 till date. Fortunately, we are in the process of restoring all the Newscards which will be followed by Prelims daily and Art & Culture, Indian Geography modules. Unfortunately we wont be able to restore forum posts and some blogs which helped many students. We know it sucks!

At this our of need, we will be counting on everyone’s support. Just to let you know – Nothing makes us more happier than our students benefitting from our hard work.

What’s good?

Your personal data is safe with us. Your emails, phone numbers and other relevant information wrt your attempts etc. was stored in a secondary server and that is safe

What’s worse?

Lack of support by our student community.

We woke up to this news of server crash and loss of data. We are not going to overburden you with the cost involved in getting the system up and running and subsequent maintenance cost required to see that it does not happen again but suffice to say that it will be the upwards of 20 lakhs.

That’s not it, since morning our content team has been busy restoring the old data so students get to have the current affairs in a few days time. That is a lot of hard work and commitment on our part. However when we see our students rating the app 1 or 2 stars because news is late or some filters are not working, we really wonder if THIS IS ALL WORTH THE TROUBLE OR NOT.

Civilsdaily is the ONLY platform which does not lord over its users by telling them how humble their content team is, how much qualified the content writers are, whether they have left the services or not, whether they sacrificed an IAS rank or are still preaching despite that.

We do not believe in blowing our own trumpet. We do not like creating an army of bhakts or anonymous users hence we coded all the forum and ensured that profiles come with authentic names.

We do not believe in duping you into believing that we actually predict UPSC prelims, hence when we devised the Art of Tikdams with Dr. Vipin Garg who is now an IAS with the state of Gujarat, we clearly called out that unless you practice early on and strengthen your basics, they will not at all help you. We even released the whole compilation for FREE over here but this is the height of ungratefulness of some the students (including some rankers) that one of the Top 10 rankers of UPSC this year asked us to return/ refund the FLAGSHIP Course fees because that person could get a single digit rank!

Offline shops masquerading as coaching classes can afford to do so and probably we could also have parted with 100% of the course fees but what does it tell about that IAS officer, student or us.

We did not do that and we dropped our idea of asking the ranker to write a glowing review about us OR make a video OR do any such thing which will get the next 50 clueless aspirant be a part of CD just because a single digit ranker says so.

We cannot force you buy our magazines or support us via your voluntary contribution since this is the era of robinhoods like Raz Kr. and others but we fail to understand why despite our earnest efforts on current affairs curation, target mains mentoring and prelims daily tikdams… we get to face ungrateful students who look for free lunches and are miffed otherwise.

We only hope that some of them were first timers on the CD ecosystem and request that they change their ratings soon.

December 3, 2016

Q.3) Consider the following statements in regard with ‘Climate Vulnerable Forum’ (CVF) 1. CVF is an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet. 2. The Forum serves as a South-South cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change.3. India is a member of the Climate Vulnerable Forum.Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 1 and 3 only
c) 2 only
d) 1,2 and 3

What: The Centre has decided to increase the limit of bonds that can be issued under a market stabilisation scheme (MSS)

Reason: To mop up excess liquidity from the banking system arising out of its demonetisation move

Note4students:

This news is of minor importance, just make sure you understand terms such as bonds and market stabilisation scheme.

Back2basics:

The MSS scheme was launched in April 2004 to strengthen the RBI’s ability to conduct exchange rate and monetary management. The bills/bonds issued under the MSS would have all the attributes of the existing treasury bills and dated securities. However, unlike regular bonds, these are not issued to meet the government’s expenditure and the funds raised are kept in a separate cash account. As a result, their issuance will have a negligible impact on the fiscal deficit of the government.

December 3, 2016

Views: The govt has set a target for India to emerge as the third-largest manufacturing country in the world from its sixth rank currently

India’s ranking among the world’s 10 largest manufacturing countries has already improved by three places to sixth position in 2015

This sector accounts for around 17% of the country’s GDP

The govt in its New Manufacturing Policy (NMP) aims to increase this share to 25% by 2022

Note4students:

You should be familiar with the share of each sector in India’s GDP. Policies such as NMP are important from a mains perspective.

Back2basics:

The National Manufacturing Policy was released in 2011, with the objective of enhancing the share of GDP in manufacturing to 25% within a decade and creating 100 million jobs. It seeks to create appropriate skill sets among the rural migrant and urban poor to make growth inclusive. Increase domestic value addition and technological depth‘ in manufacturing. It will also ensure sustainability of growth from an environmental perspective.

It has “tremendous potential” for fostering inclusion by giving all people, including the poorest and most marginalised, an official identity

Fair and robust systems of legal identity and birth registration are recognised in the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as an important foundation for promoting inclusive societies

The theme of this year’s report is ‘Leaving No One Behind — The Imperative of Inclusive Development’

Note4students:

Name of the report can be useful from prelims perspective. The 2030 Agenda is also important. The reports findings are supportive of the govt’s thrust on Aadhaar compliance, despite the concerns about privacy.

Back2basics:

The UN DESA is guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 associated targets adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 Sept 2015. They seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals and include goals such as eradicating poverty by 2030.

Event: The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing

Why: On restrictions imposed by the Narendra Modi government on American charity Compassion International (CI)

India had in March 2016 stopped the flow of funds from CI to around 250 organisations it wanted to support in the country this year

Reason: Indian security agencies say the funds were being used for religious conversions

It partially lifted the restrictions in October, allowing ten organisations to receive funds from CI

Reason: Secretary of State John Kerry took up the matter with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj

Many members of the U.S. govt want the restrictions to be relaxed further

Note4students:

This news demonstrates how our internal security can be impacted due to pressure from other countries. Even though such religious conversions frequently cause communal violence, but the govt. has to give in to pressure from a superpower and an ally like the U.S. It also shows how a country like the U.S., a self proclaimed defender of ideals like democracy and secularism, openly sides with its religious organisations.

This news item can be important from a culture perspective – terms such as Gyalwang Karmapa, Tibetan Buddhism. The other importance is from point of view of China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh – the news shows how the govt has recently become more aggressive in countering Chinese claims.

Back2basics:

Tibetan Buddhism combines the essential teachings of Mahayana Buddhism with Tantric and Shamanic, and material from an ancient Tibetan religion called Bon. Although Tibetan Buddhism is often thought to be identical with Vajrayana Buddhism, they are not identical – Vajrayana is taught in Tibetan Buddhism together with the other vehicles.

Buddhism became a major presence in Tibet towards the end of the 8th century CE. It was brought from India at the invitation of the Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen. At present Tibetan Buddhism is a religion in exile, forced from its homeland when Tibet was conquered by the Chinese.

India and Afghanistan, the co-chairs of this year’s conference, will seek to corner Pakistan on their common problem of cross-border terrorism

A major focus for the conference will be developing trade routes to Afghanistan

There is major competition brewing between India’s plans for the Chabahar port in Iran and China and Pakistan’s development of the Gwadar Port

India is part of a trilateral trade agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan which involves the Chabahar port

In time the port will connect to the International North South Transport corridor (INSTC) of railway and roadways to Russia, Central Asia and Europe

India is seeking to attract other countries to the project

However, work on the Chabahar port has yet to take off, and the trilateral agreement has not been ratified yet

On the other hand CPEC has made considerable progress

Note4students:

The Chabahar port project demonstrates a fatal weakness of India’s foreign policy – execution. While we are part of a no. of organisations in our neighborhood from SAARC to BIMSTEC, none of them have achieved their goals due to a lack of execution of projects by India.

All terms mentioned in this article have been in the news for many years. If you have been studying well and revising your notes, there should be nothing new here. Scroll down in the India-Afganisthan story to revise this topic.

She said the Election Commission of India (ECI) needs to look into the proposal for state funding of elections

Reason: To combat the influence of cash and black money in them

Note4students:

State funding of elections and other electoral reforms such as one state and national election have been in the news frequently these past few months. They are important for mains.

Back2basics:

State funding essentially means the state shall provide funds to political parties to contest elections, and in return, there are restrictions on their accepting funds from public sources. State funding is a concept designed to reduce corruption. Some govt committees which have looked at state funding of elections in the past are:

1. The Committee on Constitutional Reforms and the Law Commission (2015)

2. Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2008)

3. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2001)

December 3, 2016

Why: Ms. Basu is being honoured for the work done by her child-run organisation Green Hope

It has managed several successful environmental projects, including planting 5,000 trees in Colombia, France, Mexico, Nepal, Oman and the United States.

It is based in the UAE, and has more than 1,000 volunteers in 10 countries around the world

Past winners include Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai

Note4students:

Importance is only from prelims perspective, given the Indian connection. Note the name of the organisation and the name of the prize.

Back2basics:

The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to an exceptional child, whose courageous or otherwise remarkable actions have made a difference in improving children’s rights, which helps children worldwide. The motivation behind the prize is to provide a platform to children to express their ideas and personal involvement in children’s rights.

The prize was launched by KidsRights during the 2005 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates at the Capitol in Rome, chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. Since then, the prize has been presented every year by a Nobel Peace Laureate.

What: The indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas does not meet requirements

Reason: The current weight of the Naval LCA with the underpowered engine does not allow it to fly from a carrier

This effectively means the end of the road for the fighter’s Naval variant as the service is looking at the global market for its needs

The Naval LCA made its maiden flight in April 2012 and two prototypes are currently undergoing flying as part of the development

Note4students:

Tejas has been inducted into the IAF. But the Navy’s rejection shows that India has just begun to get rid of its dependence on other nations for its defence needs. It also impacts Make in India.

Back2basics:

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is the smallest and lightest multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft of its class. It is designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.

In the early eighties, it was realised that no organisation existed which had the total capability to develop such an aircraft all on its own. The last time an indigenous fighter aircraft, the HF 24 flew was in 1961. Since then, the HF 24 assembly line had been shut down and the design team had been wound up. The only way left was to develop an aircraft from scratch.

To better accomplish these goals, the government of India in 1984 decided to establish the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to manage the LCA programme. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, (HAL) was to be the principal partner with participation of various DRDO & CSIR Laboratories, Public & private sector industries and academic institutions.

December 2, 2016

New data from the Civil Registration System of the Registrar General of India shows a fall in sex ratio at birth from 898 girls to 1,000 boys in 2013, to 887 in 2014. Throw light on the reasons for a poor sex ratio of India. Also list out how the government should work towards its improvement.